Thematic Table of Contents
Preface
Real Support for Instructors and Students
A Note to Students from Susan Anker
Part 1
Writing Paragraphs
1. Reading and Critical Thinking: Keys to Successful Writing
Recognize What You Already Know
Improve Your Reading Skills
2 PR: The Critical Reading Process
Preview the Reading
Read the Piece, Finding the Main Point and Support
Pause to Think
Review and Respond
Think Critically
FOUR BASIC CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Chapter Review
2. Understanding the Basics of Good Writing: How to Write in College and
Other Formal Settings
Understand the Basics of Good Writing
FOUR BASICS OF GOOD WRITING
Purpose and Audience: Considering Your Writing Situation
Main Point and Support
Understand What a Paragraph Is
FOUR BASICS OF A GOOD PARAGRAPH
Understand the Writing Process
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
3. Narrowing and Exploring Your Topic: How to Decide What to
Write About
Narrow Your Topic
Explore Your Topic
Freewrite
Brainstorm
Map or Cluster
Keep a Journal
Use the Internet
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
4. Writing Your Paragraph: How to Put Your Ideas Together
Make a Point
FOUR BASICS OF A GOOD TOPIC SENTENCE
Support Your Point
FOUR BASICS OF GOOD SUPPORT
Make a Plan
Write a Draft
FOUR BASICS OF A GOOD DRAFT
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
5. Improving Your Paragraph: How to Make It the Best It Can Be
Understand What Revision Is
FOUR BASICS OF REVISION
Get Feedback
Improve Your Support
Check the Arrangement of Your Ideas
Time Order
Space Order
Order of Importance
Title Your Paragraph
Check for the Four Basics of a Good Paragraph
FOUR BASICS OF A GOOD PARAGRAPH
Edit Your Paragraph
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
6. Developing Your Paragraph: Different Ways to Present Your Ideas
Narration
FOUR BASICS OF NARRATION
Guided Practice: Narration
Guided Outline: Narration
Write a Narration Paragraph
Explore Narration Further
Illustration
FOUR BASICS OF ILLUSTRATION
Guided Practice: Illustration
Guided Outline: Illustration
Write an Illustration Paragraph
Explore Illustration Further
Description
FOUR BASICS OF DESCRIPTION
Guided Practice: Description
Guided Outline: Description
Write a Description Paragraph
Explore Description Further
Process Analysis
FOUR BASICS OF PROCESS ANALYSIS
Guided Practice: Process Analysis
Guided Outline: Process Analysis
Write a Process Analysis Paragraph
Explore Process Analysis Further
Classification
FOUR BASICS OF CLASSIFICATION
Guided Practice: Classification
Guided Outline: Classification
Write a Classification Paragraph
Explore Classification Further
Definition
FOUR BASICS OF DEFINITION
Guided Practice: Definition
Guided Outline: Definition
Write a Definition Paragraph
Explore Definition Further
Comparison and Contrast
FOUR BASICS OF COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
Guided Practice: Comparison and Contrast
Guided Outline: Comparison and Contrast
Write a Comparison-and-Contrast Paragraph
Explore Comparison and Contrast Further
Cause and Effect
FOUR BASICS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
Guided Practice: Cause and Effect
Guided Outline: Cause and Effect
Write a Cause-and-Effect Paragraph
Explore Cause and Effect Further
Argument
FOUR BASICS OF ARGUMENT
Guided Practice: Argument
Guided Outline: Argument
Write an Argument Paragraph
Explore Argument Further
Practice Together
Chapter Review
7. Moving from Paragraphs to Essays: How to Write Longer Papers
Understand Essay Structure
Write an Essay
Narrow Your Topic
Write a Thesis Statement
Support Your Thesis Statement and Write Topic Sentences
Make a Plan
Write, Revise, and Edit
Practice Together
Chapter Review
PART 1 TEST
Part 2
Grammar Basics
8. The Parts of Speech: A Brief Review
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Nouns
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Other Types of Pronouns
Verbs
Action Verbs
Main Verbs and Helping Verbs
Linking Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating Conjunctions (Dependent Words)
Interjections
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
9. Simple Sentences: Key Parts to Know
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Understand What a Sentence Is
Find Subjects
Subject Nouns
Subject Pronouns
Simple and Complete Subjects
Singular and Plural Subjects
Prepositional Phrases
Find Verbs
Decide If There Is a Complete Thought
Six Basic English Sentence Patterns
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
10. Longer Sentences: Joining Related Ideas
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Compound Sentences
Complex Sentences
Compound-Complex Sentences
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
PART 2 TEST
Part 3
Editing for the Four Most Serious Errors
11. Fragments: Sentences That Are Missing a Key Part
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The Four Most Serious Errors
Understand What Fragments Are
In the Real World, Why Is It Important to Correct Fragments?
Find and Correct Fragments
Trouble Spot 1: Fragments That Start with a Prepositional Phrase
Trouble Spot 2: Fragments That Start with a Dependent Word
Trouble Spot 3: Fragments That Start with an –ing Verb
Trouble Spot 4: Fragments That Start with to and a Verb
Trouble Spot 5: Fragments That Start with an Example or Explanation
Edit Fragments in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
12. Run-Ons and Comma Splices: Two Sentences Joined Incorrectly
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Understand What Run-Ons and Comma Splices Are
In the Real World, Why Is It Important to Correct Run-Ons and Comma Splices?
Find and Correct Run-Ons and Comma Splices
Add a Period or a Semicolon
Add a Comma and a Coordinating Conjunction
Add a Subordinating Conjunction (Dependent Word)
Edit Run-Ons and Comma Splices in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
13. Subject-Verb Agreement Problems: Subjects and Verbs That Do Not
Match
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Understand What Subject-Verb Agreement Is
In the Real World, Why Is It Important to Correct Subject-Verb Agreement Errors?
Find and Correct Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement
The Verb Is a Form of Be, Have, or Do
Words Come between the Subject and the Verb
The Sentence Has a Compound Subject
The Subject Is an Indefinite Pronoun
The Verb Comes before the Subject
Edit Subject-Verb Agreement Problems in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
14. Verb Tense Problems: The Past Tense and the Past Participle
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Understand Regular Verbs in the Past Tense
In the Real World, Why Is It Important to Use the Correct Tense?
Understand Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense
Understand Four Very Irregular Verbs
The Verb Be
The Verb Have
Can/Could and Will/Would
Understand the Past Participle
Past Participles of Regular Verbs
Past Participles of Irregular Verbs
Use the Past Participle Correctly
Present Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Passive versus Active Voice
Edit Verb Tense Errors in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Verb Tense Reference Chart
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
PART 3 TEST
Part 4
Editing for Other Errors and Sentence Style
15. Finding and Correcting Pronoun Problems: Using Substitutes for
Nouns
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Make Pronouns Agree with Their Antecedents
Indefinite Pronouns
Collective Nouns
Check Pronoun Reference
Use the Right Pronoun Case
Pronouns in Sentences with More Than One Subject or Object
Pronouns Used in Comparisons
Who versus Whom
Edit Pronouns in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
16. Using Adjectives and Adverbs Correctly: Describing Which One?
or How?
Choose between Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and Adverbs in Comparisons
Good, Well, Bad, and Badly
Edit Adjectives and Adverbs in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
17. Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers: Avoiding Confusing Descriptions
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Understand What Misplaced Modifiers Are
Find and Correct Misplaced Modifiers
Understand What Dangling Modifiers Are
Find and Correct Dangling Modifiers
Edit Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
18. Illogical Shifts: Avoiding Inconsistencies
Understand Consistent Tense
Find and Correct Inconsistent Tenses
Understand Consistent Person
Find and Correct Inconsistent Person
Edit Illogical Shifts in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
19. Combining Choppy Sentences: Effectively Joining Ideas
Use Coordination to Join Sentences
Using Coordinating Conjunctions
Using Semicolons
Use Subordination to Join Sentences
Edit for Choppy Sentences in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
20. Parallelism: Balancing Ideas
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Understand What Parallelism Is
Use Parallel Structure
Parallelism in Pairs and Lists
Parallelism in Comparisons
Parallelism with Certain Paired Words
Edit for Parallelism in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
PART 4 TEST
Part 5
Editing Words in Sentences
21. Word Choice: Using the Right Words
Understand the Importance of Choosing Words Carefully
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Avoid Four Common Word-Choice Problems
Vague Words
Slang
Wordy Language
Clichés
Edit for Word Choice in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
22. Commonly Confused Words: Avoiding Mistakes with Soundalike
Words
Understand Why Certain Words Are Commonly Confused
Use Commonly Confused Words Correctly
Edit Commonly Confused Words in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
Quiz: Editing for Commonly Confused Words
23. Spelling: Using the Right Letters
Understand the Importance of Spelling Correctly
Practice Spelling Correctly
Follow These Steps to Better Spelling
Remember Ten Troublemakers
Defeat Your Personal Spelling Demons
Learn about Commonly Confused Words
Learn Seven Spelling Rules
Check a Spelling List
Edit Spelling Errors in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
PART 5 TEST
Part 6
Editing for Punctuation and Mechanics
24. Commas ( , )
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Understand What Commas Do
Use Commas Correctly
Commas between Items in a Series
Commas in Compound Sentences
Commas after Introductory Words
Commas around Appositives and Interrupters
Commas around Adjective Clauses
Other Uses for Commas
Commas with Quotation Marks
Commas in Addresses
Commas in Dates
Commas with Names
Commas with Yes or No
Edit Commas in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
25. Apostrophes ( ‘ )
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Understand What Apostrophes Do
Use Apostrophes Correctly
Apostrophes to Show Ownership
Its or It’s
Apostrophes in Contractions
Apostrophes with Letters, Numbers, and Time
Edit Apostrophes in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
26. Quotation Marks (" " )
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Understand What Quotation Marks Do
Use Quotation Marks Correctly
Quotation Marks for Direct Quotations
Setting Off a Quotation within Another Quotation
No Quotation Marks for Indirect Quotations
Quotation Marks for Certain Titles
Edit Quotation Marks in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
27. Other Punctuation ( ; : ( ) -- - )
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Understand What Punctuation Does
Use Punctuation Correctly
Semicolon ( ; )
Colon ( : )
Parentheses ( ( ) )
Dash (— )
Hyphen (– )
Edit Other Punctuation in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
28. Capitalization: Using Capital Letters
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Understand Capitalization
Use Capitalization Correctly
Capitalization of Sentences
Capitalization of Names of Specific People, Places, Dates, and Things
Capitalization of Titles
Edit for Capitalization in College, Work, and Everyday Life
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review and Quiz
PART 6 TEST
Part 7
ESLConcerns
29. Subjects
Include a Subject in Every Sentence
More Than One Subject
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
30. Verbs
Understand Verbs
Use Be to Show Age, Emotion, or Physical Condition
Form Negatives Correctly
Form Questions Correctly
Form the Present Progressive Tense Correctly
Use Modal Auxiliaries/Helping Verbs Correctly
Use Gerunds and Infinitives Correctly
Include Prepositions after Verbs When Needed
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
31. Nouns and Articles
Count and Noncount Nouns
Articles
Write and Edit Your Own Work
Practice Together
Chapter Review
EDITING REVIEW TESTS 1-10
Part 8
Readings for Writers
32. Narration
Introduction to the Readings
Anonymous, "A 911 Call Saved My Life"
"Lauren Mack, "Twelve Items or Fewer"
Malcolm X, "Learning to Read"
33. Illustration
Stephen D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dunbar, "Incentives"
Sabina Pajazetovic, "My Mother, My Hero"
Priscilla Gilman, "Autism's Back-to-School Anxiety"
34. Description
Tim O'Brien, "Tip Top Lodge"
Andrew Dillon Bustin, "Airports Are for People Watching"
Paul Theroux, "The City: Honolulu"
35. Process Analysis
Federal Trade Commission, excerpt from "Building a Better Credit Report"
Rashad Brown, "When I Grow Up I Wanna Be . . ."
Rachel Dratch, "Your Unofficial Guide to Being on Saturday Night Live"
36. Classification
Diane Ackerman, "Types of Massages"
Josh Baumbach, "Top Five Worst Facebook Habits"
Stephanie Dray, "The Five Kinds of Friends Everyone Should Have"
37. Definition
Victoria Bissell Brown and Timothy J. Shannon, "Folk Songs"
Alejandra Saragoza, "Are You in a Superficial Relationship?"
Andrew Sullivan, "Why the M Word Matters to Me"
38. Comparison and Contrast
David Sedaris, "Sibling Rivalry"
Shakira Smiler, "A Trifling Media"
Joe Sobran, "Patriotism vs. Nationalism"
39. Cause and Effect
Michael Pollan, "Domestication"
Delia Cleveland, "Champagne Taste, Beer Budget"
Michael Johnson, "Why Did the Allies Win World War Two?"
40. Argument
Michael Pollan, "Vegeterians and Human Culture"
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, "Eating Health,"
Sheena Ivey, "English as an Official Language: One Language for One Nation"
Tony Felts, "English as an Official Language: The Injustice of One Language"
Appendix: Succeeding on Tests
Index
Editing and Proofreading Marks
For Easy Reference: Selected Lists and Charts